Welcome Your 2014 Surgical Team!

The FACES Foundation 2014 Surgical Team is preparing for their upcoming January surgical trip to Lambayeque, Peru. The surgical team, made up of 22 medical and support staff, plan to operate on between 35 and 40 cases during their trip. Please take a few moments to get to know the 2014 Surgical Team a little better and stay tuned for trip updates from the road!

El Presidente / El Jefe / Surgeon (OHSU) – Dr. Thomas Albert

Dr. Tom Albert is a professor at Oregon Health Sciences University in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as well as Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Albert was involved in an extensive medical education effort concerning cleft care with Project Hope in China from 1983-1993 and has continued to be involved independently since then. His interest has been to develop ways to extend truly comprehensive cleft care beyond surgery alone to difficult to reach populations

Vice President, International Relations / Interpreter – Kelly Jensen

Kelly T. Jensen, B.A., M.B.A, is a business leader and management consultant with over 25 years experience introducing new technologies and management practices in the United States and Latin America. Specializing in healthcare, Mr. Jensen has worked with over 300 hospitals and health care systems to improve their effectiveness. In addition to supporting FACES, Mr. Jensen provides leadership for volunteer programs in faith-based organizations and alumni associations of Harvard University. He is fluent in English and Spanish, and conversant in German and Tzotzil Maya.

FACES Peru Director / Translator – Delia Delgado

Delia Delgado is an English teacher in Chiclayo, Peru, and studied languages in university. She enjoys meeting new people and visiting new places and, when not working, her favorite free-time activity is walking. Delia loves her work with FACES because she is in direct contact with people, which she says is always a learning experience. She finds great satisfaction in seeing people’s health and lives improve!

FACES Goodwill Ambassador – Chris Dickey

Chris Dickey is the returning 2014 FACES Goodwill Ambassador, who will be helping with all aspects of the FACES Surgical Trip. Chris’s background is in both law and education. After obtaining her Montessori teaching degree and a Masters in Education, she started an early childhood education program for low-income, mostly minority children. She currently teaches at another early childhood education program she started at Kateri Park, which houses refugees from Africa, Asia and Latin America. She has been involved in service projects and mission trip in Central America.

Coordinator / Translator – Angela Jensen

Angela Jensen is a new member of the FACES team and will help manage the team’s daily activities, as well as translation. She is currently a Case Coordinator at Best Doctors and is based in Boston, MA. Angela is also a certified Spanish-English medical interpreter. This will be her first surgical trip, and her second trip with FACES, as she was on the December 2013 Screening Trip with the team.

SURGEONS

Senior Surgeon / FACES Surgical Coordinator (Kaiser) – Dr. Dana Smith

Dr. Smith is a Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon who is currently Director of the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Cleft Palate Clinic in Portland, OR. He is an Otolaryngologist at Kaiser and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at OHSU. Dana’s wife is a medical student at OHSU; he has a 17-year-old stepson and a 7-year- old daughter. Hobbies include skiing, hiking, rock-climbing and travel. Dr. Smith has been to Peru seven times for cleft surgery trips and to Russia once for a facial reconstructive surgery trip.

Senior Surgeon (OHSU) – Dr. Tom Wang

Dr. Wang’s practice is centered around cosmetic and reconstructive surgery of the face. He is actively involved in teaching medical students and residents, and participates in research on Facial Plastic Surgery-related problems. His main areas of interest in facial cosmetic surgery are rhinoplasty and facial rejuvenation, including endoscopic facial procedures. In his free time Dr. Wang enjoys traveling, skiing and chamber music.

Dr. Melynda Barnes is the current Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellow at OHSU. Dr. Barnes is originally from Roswell, Georgia, and completed an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at Stanford University. She then completed her medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and completed residency training in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Stanford University

Surgeon – ENT Resident (OHSU) – Dr. Renee Park

Dr. Renee Park is an otolaryngology resident at Oregon Health & Science University. She is originally from California, and attended UCLA prior to working on poliovirus eradication at the CDC. Dr. Park earned her MD/MPH at OHSU, and loved her time in Portland so much she stayed for residency. She is excited to continue her training in pediatric otolaryngology at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, and looks forward to working with the many talented and generous volunteers of FACES.

ANESTHETISTS

Pediatric Anesthesiologist (OHSU) – Dr. Berklee Robins

Berklee Robins is pediatric anesthesiologist at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital/OHSU. Originally from NY, he has been living in Portland for the past 18 years. This will be his 9th medical mission. His academic interests include global health and global anesthesia issues and resident education, and bioethics. He is completing a fellowship in Interprofessional Healthcare Ethics at OHSU, and is enrolled in a graduate program in Bioethics and Health Policy at Loyola University in Chicago

Dr. Vaqar Syed is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukie. He has worked and studied all over the world, including in Karachi, Pakistan, and London. Dr. Syed completed his Anesthesia Residency and Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesia at Medical College of Wisconsin. He joined the faculty after completing his fellowship, where he is working to date. This is Dr. Syed’s second trip to Peru with FACES.

Nurse Anesthetist (Kaiser) – Brian Ryder

Brian was born and raised in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He completed his undergrad work at University of Pennsylvania and then the Anesthesia program at Lankenau Medical Center in Philadephia, PA. Brian has worked at Kaiser for the 12 years, 8 of which he was the Chief CRNA. He has been married to Marsha Ryder for 32 years and has three children: Stephanie, who is working on her Masters in Public Health, Ian, who is working in middle management with the Four Seasons Hotel and Alex, who is currently with the Peace Corps in Ghana, Africa. Brian has worked with Operation Smile for the past 14 years and this will be his fourth mission with FACES Foundation.

Anesthesia Resident (OHSU) – Dr. T. Trinh

Thuydung Trinh a.k.a. “T” was born in Vietnam but now calls Portland, OR, her home. She went to the local University of Portland for undergraduate education before heading off to Creighton University for medical school. Missing the beautiful Pacific Northwest, she returned to Portland for residency at OHSU and is hoping to settle in this region.

NURSES

OR Nurse / Surgical Coordinator (OHSU) – Jesse Rader

Jesse is a nurse in south operating room at OHSU and this is her fourth trip with FACES Foundation. She was in the Peace Corps serving in Swaziland 1994-1996. Jesse has a special kinship with Peru being that her mother is Peruvian and she has been traveling there since she was a baby. She enjoys working with this team each year, the hard work, dedication and the look on the faces of the families at the end of the day, which she says makes all the effort worth it.

Pre/Post-Operative Nurse (Kaiser) – Tammy Berks

Tammy has been a nurse with Kaiser for 25 years working in pediatrics and day surgery. She has been involved with fundraising efforts for FACES and this is her sixth mission trip to Peru with FACES. Tammy has formed ongoing friendships with both staff and patients in Peru. She is very involved with her sons’ sports and the Gladstone community. She is very thankful to her husband and children for their continued support.

Operating Room Nurse (OHSU) – Theresa Nera

Theresa is an operating room nurse at OHSU’s South OR. She is been on multiple international mission trips, and is a returning member of the FACES’ surgical team.

Pre/Post-Operative Nurse (Kaiser) – Tracey Naylor

Tracey is currently a Registered Nurse at Kaiser PACU and this is her fourth trip to Peru with FACES Foundation. She has a 16-year-old son and 10-year-old step-daughter. Tracey and her family love the great outdoors, all seasons and they love to travel!

Pre/Post-Operative Nurse (Kaiser) – Beth Delaney

Beth Delaney is second-year returning member of the FACES surgical team. She has been a PACU RN for 7 years and currently works at Kaiser Westside. She lives in NW Portland and, on her free time, enjoys yoga, hiking and cooking.

Operating Room Nurse (OHSU) – Jenn Ploeger

Jenn made her way to Oregon via Colorado and Utah and loves what Oregon has to offer from the mountains to the ocean. You can find Jenn on an outdoors adventure with family, friends and her two dogs. She works at OHSU as a registered nurse in the South operating room. It took her a while to fulfill her goal of becoming a nurse, but she learned first hand that persistence pays off! She graduated in June 2012 with her BSN. This is her first medical mission and she’s grateful to be part of the FACES team.

Operating Room Nurse (OHSU) – Victoria Buchanan

Victoria grew up on the East coast in North Carolina and Virginia and most of her family still lives there. She has been in Portland since 2007. Before she moved to Portland she lived in Northern California for a few years and was a massage therapist. She graduated from OHSU School of Nursing in June 2012 and began an internship with OHSU South O.R. that August. She is on the ENT, OMFS, and Plastics team and those are a majority of the procedures she takes part in, but also do a lot of General procedures. Going on medical missions is something she has always wanted to do and she’s very excited to finally be able to go and be part of a great team.

SCRUB TECHNICIAN

Surgical Technician (OHSU) – Derik Gunderson

Derik is a Surgical Tech currently working at OHSU. He has a beautiful 10-year-old daughter named Avery, and an amazing girlfriend (the one-and-only Tracey Naylor!) Together they snowboard, wakeboard, camp, boat, work in the yard, and all-around have a great time! This is Derik’s second trip to Peru with FACES.

OTHER / SUPPORT

Student Helper / Translator – Natalie Rader

Natalie is 14 years old and an 8th grader at West Sylvan Middle School in the Spanish Immersion Program. She received her babysitters training with the Red Cross and loves working with kids. Natalie loves to run track and play the flute. This is her second trip to Peru and she is looking forward to work with the FACES Surgical Team and the FACES’ cleft patients.